6. Productivity

D.98-04-059 directed customers to demonstrate productivity by assigning a reasonable dollar value to the benefits of their participation to ratepayers. (D.98-04-059 at 34-35.) The costs of a customer's participation should bear a reasonable relationship to the benefits realized through its participation. This showing assists us in determining the overall reasonableness of the request. Reid's participation in the PRG helped to resolve many issues in advance of the formal application proceeding, thereby reducing expensive and lengthy litigation. PG&E has withdrawn or modified numerous proposals as a result of Reid's participation, with millions of ratepayer's dollars saved. Monetary savings also resulted from the more efficient than in the formal proceedings discovery process. Additional costs of litigation were saved by determining, prior to the advice letter filings, whether or not Reid should file protest with respect to more than a dozen advice letters. It is not possible to determine the exact size of these savings; however, it can be said with certainty, that, taken as a whole, these actual savings far exceed the requested compensation. Thus, we find that Reid's efforts have been productive.